Description: Leslie Parsons (right front) is photographed on the wing of a Bell P-39 Airacobra. In April 1941, Parsons was posted to New York from Birmingham, England as a member of the United Kingdom Trade Mission. The United States had not yet entered the war, but Parsons' work in the armaments industry was part of Britain's war effort. In October 1941, he was posted to headquarters in Ottawa and promoted to Chief Examiner. In April 1942, he was posted to the Small Arms Division sub-headquarters in Toronto with the rank of Chief Examiner acting as Inspection Officer. Among his responsibilities was the Small Arms Ltd. factory in Lakeview. Parsons' wife Irene and sons Walter and Bernard made a wartime Atlantic crossing to join him and a third son, Robert, was born while they were living in Port Credit. In 1945, Parsons was posted to the headquarters of the Operational Intelligence Collecting System in London, England.